United Kingdom

    It's been 12 years since Nadiya Hussain married her husband Abdal, and during an appearance on Thursday's edition on This Morning, the former Great British Bake Offwinner has revealed her plans for a second marriage. Speaking with hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about her new novel, she teased: We are on our twelfth year...so you never know, I might trade him in! The 32-year-old, who had an arrange marriage with Abdal when she was 19 years old, opened up about the early stages of their relationship: We spoke to each other for six months, but we never actually met until the day we got engaged. And the second day I saw him was the day I got married! I went on looks. She added: He was lovely and it worked. I'm lucky, because it doesn't always work, but I was real...

    The new 12-sided £1 coin - billed as "the most secure coin in the world" - will enter circulation on 28 March. The Royal Mint has unveiled the new circulating coin designs for the year with a pioneering theme linking them. The 12-sided £1 coin was designed by David Pearce and features the flora of the four nations of the UK emerging from a coronet. Then there's the £2 Jane Austen coin to celebrate the Hampshire author, the First World War Aviation £2 coin remembering the Royal Flying Corps and the Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin. Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: “This is a particularly significant year in Royal Mint history as we welcome in the new 12-sided £1 coin, with its innovative security features.” What makes the new £1 coin so special? • Well, it...

    The pound's value has collapsed against the dollar. The pound has hit its lowest level against the dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU, amid a sudden strengthening of the US currency. Sterling dipped below its post-Brexit low of $1.2081, if the trading blip caused by a so-called 'flash crash' is omitted, as US President-elect Donald Trump prepared to give his first news conference since November's election. But it later recovered some poise back above $1.21 as the billionairetook questions from reporters in what proved to be a fiery occasion. It settled higher than $1.22, leaving it up against the greenback on the session opening. Sterling has had a horror show of a week losing ground at the start of trading on Monday following remarks by PM Theresa May on Sky News t...

    A cancer specialist at an Essex trust said they had never seen so many cancer operations cancelled. More than 20 hospitals in England have had to declare a black alert this week after becoming so overcrowded that they could no longer guarantee patient safety and provide their full range of normal services. Unprecedented numbers of patients requiring care has led to at least 23 hospital trusts declaring they cannot cope since Monday, inquiries by the Guardian have established. Struggling hospitals have been forced to take highly unusual steps in order to manage a surge in demand for care. They include cancelling cancer operations, treating adults in children’s wards and even closing a birthing centre to help cope with a sudden influx of patients who need to be admitted for ...

    The Post Office is to close and franchise a further 37 Crown offices with a loss of around 300 staff. Some 127 financial specialist roles will also be cut, said the Communication Workers Union. Dave Ward, General Secretary of the CWU, said: the latest round of closures is further evidence that the Post Office is in crisis and that the board of the company, backed by the government, is simply pursuing a strategy of slash and burn. Today’s announcement comes less than three weeks after the closure of a major government consultation on the future of the Post Office and sticks two fingers up to everyone who took part in this. The union has staged strikes in protest at the closure of Crown Post Offices - the larger branches usually sited on high streets. A colourful protest was...

    The FTSE 100 saw the longest run of record closing highs yesterday as the index recorded its ninth consecutive gain on the back of further sterling weakness. The index, which closed the day up 37.7 points on 7,257, has hit a fresh record high at the close of every session for nine days, beating the record of eight closing highs set on 4 May 1997 following Tony Blair's General Election victory, according to The Daily Telegraph. This record-breaking run, which began when markets reopened after Christmas on 28 December, is the longest since the index's inception in 1984. As well as its ninth consecutive all-time closing high, the FTSE 100 also registered its 11th successive daily gain in a row, matching the record set three times in 1997, 2004 and 2009. FTSE 100 shares receiv...

    Boris Johnson has claimed that the UK is first in line for a free trade deal with the US after the Trump administration takes office on 20 January. On a hastily arranged trip to the US to reinforce previously weak links with Donald Trump’s transition team, Johnson also declared on Monday that the incoming administration had a very exciting agenda of change. Johnson’s claim about the UK’s future status as Washington’s preferred trading partner was a pointed reference to Barack Obama’s warning during the EU referendum campaign that Britain would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal if it chose Brexit. At the time, the US and EU were trying to complete a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP), but that appears to have no future under the presidency of D...

    George Michael made a secret visit to a hospital in Vienna just weeks before he died. The star flew to the Austrian capital by private jet in November to the same medical centre that saved his life when he was struck down with pneumonia in 2011. He is thought to have seen two top doctors who had led the team that treated him after he collapsed suffering from severe chest pains before a gig. Lover Fadi Fawaz went with him on his latest trip, suggesting they were still an item in his final months despite claims their relationship was on the rocks. Fadi, 40, found George dead on Christmas Day aged 53. He was thought to have died of heart failure. Photographer and hair stylist Fadi said he had spent the night sleeping in his car before finding George’s body at his home in Gori...

    Sir Ivan Rogers, the former UK ambassador to the EU, held secret talks with ex-prime minister David Cameron before Christmas over Brexit. The meeting has raised concerns that senior government officials were privately in touch with leading Remain supporters, The Times reports. In the meeting held towards the end of 2016, Sir Ivan is said to have told Cameron that May was not doing enough to prepare for the risk of the UK making a disorderly departure from the EU. Sir Ivan resigned last week, just months before May is expected to trigger Article 50 to start Brexit talks. The Times quoted a source familiar with what was discussed between the two as saying: "Rogers spoke to Cameron. His biggest fear was that the biggest issue is not hard or soft Brexit, but whether we have an...

    A young man has become the first in Britain to reveal he is pregnant. Hayden Cross, who was born as a girl, will give birth to his first child this year after tracking down a sperm donor via Facebook. Now four months pregnant, the 20-year-old had reportedly already started transitioning into a man when he chose to have a baby. After giving birth, he plans to complete his gender transition including surgery to remove his ovaries, The Sun on Sunday reports. He also plans to stay single for a while - for his child's sake. Speaking to the newspaper, Hayden, a former Asda employee, said he was concerned about how people will react to his pregnancy. But he added that he was glad he is expecting a baby something that he hopes will inspire other people to be happy in themselves. H...